Charlie is a pleasant horse to groom. He seems to enjoy his spa time in the cross ties and usually stands pretty patiently. Some areas are more ticklish than others, but generally he seems to be pretty OK with the whole grooming process. He might even kinda like it!
This is definitely good news for me, on two fronts:
1: As we all know, I'm basically living out my 12yo daydreams by finally having a pony all of my own. Spending hours brushing his mane and tail is a very critical piece of that little puzzle lol (plus Isabel was always tolerant at best, and moderately hostile at worst, when it came to grooming).
And 2: Wow Charlie's coat was a hot mess when I
met him last month.
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| my three essentials + bonus scritchy mitt |
My actual grooming routine has honestly not deviated very much over the years. The standard arsenal includes 3 tools:
- I like a full size old school hard plastic curry comb (the war-torn, battered and bruised black curry in the above shot).
- A body brush with medium bristles (hard to describe exactly what I look for - it's very much a "feel" thing).
- And a basic hoof pick + brush.
Occasionally, other tools find their way into the mix. Like a shedding comb in winter, or that scritchy purple mitt above, that I bought for Isabel but have LOVED for Charlie (great for legs and contoured surfaces that need attention). Or maybe a damp rag for particularly static-y days.
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| "whatchu doin back there?!?" - Charlie |
Usually, tho, it's just those three standard old faithfuls and heaping helpings of elbow grease. I'm a big believer that the best thing we can do for a horse's coat is curry curry curry. Then some vigorous swipes with the body brush, a couple flicks of the hoof pick, and voila! Groomed horse!
In my experience, the hard plastic curries seem to work the best (and are often more palatable for the sensitive skinned beasts, somewhat counter-intuitively bc one might think the softer rubber or jelly curries might be preferred... but again, that has not been my experience. ymmv).
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| Charlie on day 2 with me |
And man. Charlie has needed a LOT of currying. You can sorta kinda see in the above pic, but he was basically covered in those weird tiger stripe sweat marks all over his neck, shoulder and back. It might look like the marks would just brush right off.... but... nope.
Tho they did start disappearing after the first week or so, and his incoming winter coat has all but done away with them. Really, tho, it wasn't a good look at all.
I suspect the source was a lack of focus on invigorating the skin and hair follicles, and by bathing instead of grooming. Or maybe he was basically just out in a field not getting groomed at all for the couple weeks between his last race and when I adopted him? Idk.
Another mark that has proven more difficult to eliminate is on his left hind quarter. And I've never seen anything quite like it. There's a strip of flesh from the point of his croup down to almost his stifle where he.... sweats. A lot. If he's sweating anywhere, that strip of flesh is also likely sweating.
It basically has permanent salt crystals crusted onto the skin and hairs. To the point where the section is clearly demarcated by a thinness in his coat. I had seriously hoped that careful and thorough grooming mixed with his winter growth would fill the spot in... but so far no dice.
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| new favorite brush |
On top of those two issues, Charlie also experiences some minor fungal issues. A brief flirtation with rain rot. Some scabs that grew funky and resistant to healing. Weird scaly scabby spots here and there. Nasty flaky armpits. Basically, I've fondly referred to him as my darling bucket of fungus. It's sweet, I know.
So we groom. A LOT. I'm finding that in addition to my beloved hard plastic curry, a new player is emerging as a favorite tool: a Horze body brush with natural mixed boar bristles (
basically this model, but minus the "deluxe" crystal strap - mine has a plain strap but these same bristles).
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| smoother glossier coat |
I've always been somewhat aggressively focused on pure functionality, and have never been able to swallow the idea of very expensive brand-name grooming tools. Like, they are attractive to me bc I love both gadgetry and grooming, but I've just never pulled the trigger when the cheaper generic tools have gotten the job done well enough.
And perhaps maybe that's what this Horze brush is - the cheaper-but-still-brand-name knock off of a higher end grooming tool. But whatever. I just gotta say: I LOVE this brush.
I think it's the natural bristles that make the difference, honestly. So perhaps any brush with these type of boar bristles will achieve the same results. Plus this brush has exactly the right combination of bristle length and stiffness, that
je ne sais quoi quality we all know and love in our favorite brushes.
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| Charlie approves |
Whatever the case, this brush has been in heavy rotation ever since I brought it home a few months ago. First with Isabel and now with Charlie. And I just really
really like it.
Something about how smoothly it glides through the coat. Summer slick or winter fuzzy, this brush easily swipes off all the dust and dander, while leaving the coat feeling glossy and clean. It's oddly satisfying lol.
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| horse also looks oddly satisfied lol |
So we curry curry curry - bringing all the dirt and grime and dander and loose hair up to the surface of Charlie's coat. Then some vigorous swipes and flicks of this body brush. And just a few short weeks later - Charlie's coat is blooming and the winter fuzzies are growing in full and healthy and looking repaired from whatever damage his coat sustained this summer.
This is a great brush. Especially if you're interested in trying out a natural mixed boar bristle brush, but don't want to spend a lot on it. Furthermore - at this cost it would make a great gift or stocking stuffer for your favorite horse buddies!
What are your favorite grooming tools? Do you prefer old fashioned simplicity? Or do you experiment with every new gizmo to hit the shelves? Are you loyal to one brand, or will whatever's in the sale bin work for you?
